Turkey Looks to Become Manufacturing Hub for Renewable Energy

Turkey Looks to Become Manufacturing Hub for Renewable Energy

The reports have it that Turkey is looking for becoming a manufacturing hub for the renewable-energy industry by implementing some of the world’s strictest rules on local content. Turkey, the nation which is astride the European and Asian continents, is now on its way to open itself for the overseas investors in a tender for utility-scale renewable energy contracts. The tender-winners would be required to construct photovoltaic panels within the country.

Talking on the phone, a senior banker at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development Andi Aranitasi said that the aspiration of the Turkish government was to actually give confidence to the investors to establish a manufacturing facility in Turkey, for job creation, R&D and transfer of know-how.

According to Bloomberg, new rules implemented in Turkey will make the things harder for developers to work there. The news reveal that more than three-quarters of all the photovoltaics sold are made in China, where companies including Trina Solar Ltd. and JinkoSolar Holding Co. have been driving down production costs.

It has been learnt that the solar tender of Turkish government is going to be valued as high as $1.3 billion and will happen in the mid of December next month.

While local content has been demanded by oil-rich countries for decades, it has only recently begun to seep into the clean energy space. Brazil made it mandatory for developers to make a certain percentage of wind turbines within its borders, although the machines are mostly just assembled locally. As per reports, Turkey imports around 75 percent of its energy.